Polish-Hungarian Friendship day

 Salvete Omnes,

today Poland and Hungary celebrate the  official  Hungarian-Polish Friendship Day (since 2007 in both nations)

 

Polish 'tribe' and the Magyar one have been friends for more than a thousand years, exchanging kings and queens, princes and princesses, giving aid and helping hand, and refuge to the exiled ones.

Old Poles took or interpreted costumes, weapons, and horse tack from the Hungarians. The most famous Polish cavalry - winged hussars - have Hungarian origin and provenance (Serbian links notwithstanding) .

This long history produced a saying in both countries, both mirror one another  -

Polish-
Polak, Węgier - dwa bratanki,

i do szabli, i do szklanki, 

oba zuchy, oba żwawi,

 niech im Pan Bóg błogosławi.

***
Hungarian  - 

Lengyel, magyar - két jó barát,

 Együtt harcol s issza borát, 

Vitéz s bátor mindkettője, 

Áldás szálljon mindkettőre.

 ***

 the English translation, of my own,  could be as follows:

Pole and Magyar, two sworn brothers

for a sabre and for a cup

Both are valiant, both are lively

May the Lord's blessing be upon them

***

 

In Polish tradition graves and tombstones play great cultural role and significance. Monument to Hungarian soldiers who died fighting the Germans and their allies (various Nazi units of the ex-Soviet citizens) during the Warsaw Uprising 1944

I wish another 1000 years of friendship to both ... 

ps

there is a mural in Budapest - two oaks of friendship 

Valete

F. Reminton- cavalry charges & American horses

 Salvete Omnes,

 

a quick gallop across the Great Plains of American Painting -
I have several albums about Frederic Remington's art. And with the development of archive library catalogs you can find many books by or with Frederic Remington's illustrations.
Here you can find various books and albums - either to download or to borrow.
I would like to bring to your attention the beauty of Frederic Remington's portrayal of cavalry charges :

US Cavalry

and Plains Indian warriors

Howgh!

Please note, that maestro Remington drew and painted horse from life (also used photographs etc), the American horses of his day and age. They are not overfed and rather athletic looking,  prime examples of the horse nation of those gone days.

Valete

Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz - a horse painter

 Salvete Omnes,

 

Oriental market scene with horses

there have been Ajdukiewicz painters in Polish art history - Tadeusz & Zygmunt. 

Tadeusz(1851 - january 1916) studied at the Krakow Academy, in Vienna's Academy and at Munich's one, also with Jozef Brandt in his Munich atelier, and also in Paris. Eventually he became a painter for the Imperial Hapsburg court and thus saved from the pecuniary problems continued his painting career. He did travel the the Middle East and the Balkans, and the Caucasus, getting first hand view and experience for his Oriental-theme paintings.
Motivated by the war fervor elderly Tadeusz (he was more than 60 years old) joined the Polish Austrian Legions, but being a grunt did not work out for him well, for due to poor food, exertion  and cold conditions during the fall campaign he got mortally sick and died in Krakow in January 1916.

Here we will show some Tadeusz' canvasses - from the National Museum at Warsaw, and some other collections or paintings corralled on the web. Oriental topics, horses and genre paintings mostly here

Oriental hunting scene

Oriental horseman

Market in Dobruja

This print is from the National Museum in Krakow - shows Ottoman soldier and a merchant looking at the horse before the battle at Vienna 1683?

Harvest parade & festival  in Krakow, 1880

and a beautiful portrait of a beautiful woman - (nota bene glorious painting of beautiful Modrzejewska  here)

Valete

Happy Nowruz 2023

 Salvete Omnes,

 

today is Nowruz, the ancient Zoroastrian holiday of the new year, also celebrated by the pagan Slavic peoples as Jare Gody.

Persepolis Bull (Moon, Winter) vs Lion (Spring, Sun)

ps
and a little beauty of a horse from our Polish maestro Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz for this New Year
This painting is supposedly titled A Turkish Courtyard - showing a groom with a saddled beautiful chestnut horse (Polish name:  cisek, cisawy, & kasztan)  - from Artnet or Mutual art,

Valete

Johann Casimir of Sachsen-Coburg

 Salvete Omnes,

 

a short entry about another Saxon prince and some interesting iconography associated with this German ruler 

Johann Casimir (1564-1633) of the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin, ruled over his principality of Schsen-Coburg where he was known for his projects to strengthen, enrich, and stabilize his realm. 

 

He fortified his primary fortress Veste Coburg - and at your own leisure you can peruse the Wiki Gallery for some rather remarkable vistas of this schloss - and thanks to his diligence  Catholic Imperial and allied Bavarian  armies were unable to take this fortress when Protestant prince Johan Casimir decided to enter the war on the Swedish, Protestant, side. Nota bene during his reign the witch trials were at their height in his lands, and he most likely used this mass formation psychosis to accuse of adultery, divorce and imprison his first wife, Anna of Saxony, at the fortress.

 

bridle with a curb-bit

another bridle

Beautiful epitaph at the Moritzkirche in Coburg. John Casimir had  master sculptor Nicolaus Berger  build this monument for his father Johann Frederic II of Saxony and his mother Elisabeth of Simmern-Sponheim. The monument was finished in 1598.

Finally, presently Veste  Coburg contains an arms and armour collection - so when you are in Bavarian north do visit this castle.

beautiful rapier from Solingen

Valate